#30DC14 Begins October 20th

The ICATS 30 Day eLearning Challenge!

It’s what you’ve been waiting for! Another year has gone away and we are ready for a new challenge! We have been preparing our thoughts and we have come up with a great list of resources for you in this year’s EVSC ICATS 30 Day eLearning Challenge! Last year’s challenge was given on the evscicats.com website and it will be there again this year. This will mean that all of our posts are archived directly on the site for easy searchable access in the future! As a matter of fact, if you’d like to check out last year’s challenges, just click here! This link takes you to our archive of the challenge and we will be adding to it every day until December 3rd.

From our first two years of the challenge, all of the posts and resources are available at icats30daychallenge.blogspot.com to access and review. We have had an overwhelming response to our challenge with thousands of people still accessing it each month throughout the year. This is no doubt a testament to how dedicated teachers are to improving their craft in the classroom!

While the real value of the challenge is intrinsic, we try to provide at least a tangible hook for those that complete the challenge. Past Challenge drawing winners have won prizes such as iPads, Chromebooks, Google Summit registrations, eRevolution Summer of elearning Conference registration and hotel accomodations for registered conferences. The individuals listed below were drawn from a pool of those who completed the challenge to receive the prizes listed above:

Melissa Mayer (Vogel Elementary School, Evansville IN)

Aaron Sisson (Glenwood Leadership Academy, Evansville IN)

Debbie Wolinsky (Indianapolis Public Schools, Indianapolis IN)

Paul Fischer (FJ Reitz HS, Evansville IN)

Mary Memmer (Princeton Community Schools, Princeton IN)

Kathy Hughes (Gibson Southern HS, Fort Branch IN)

In addition to the prize drawing at the end of the challenge, we will be handing out certificates for 10 Professional Growth Plan (PGP) hours to each challenger that completes the challenge. This year for the drawing, we are going to randomly select, via Fruit Machine, 2 EVSC teachers and 2 non-EVSC teachers who complete the entire challenge to receive additional recognition for their dedication to learning. This year’s EVSC drawings will include a new Chromebook and of course eRevolution registrations for the summer of 2015. Two (2) Non-EVSC participants will be able to earn eRevolution 2015 Conference registration and hotel packages for the drawing winner and three friends! Good Luck!

Completing the Challenge! (The Rules)

Here’s how the challenge works….. Each of the next 30 days that the EVSC is in session (after 10/20/14) we will introduce a new resource and some general information about how to get started with it. We will also provide you with additional similar tools that may be available. Resources will vary from web tools to mobile apps, and may include a few free downloads, but we are committed to helping provide access to free resources. All of the primary tools we investigate with you are free or have a free option. In addition, we will highlight indicators on the EVSC teacher evaluation rubric that pertain to the resource in the challenge.

Your challenge is to actively participate in the discussion around each of the topics. Active participation means that you will contribute at least one new idea, suggestion or relevant resource to each blog post. Cordial comments such as “I like that one”, “I agree with Kris”, or “This doesn’t pertain to my classes, but I’ll look at it” are not going to receive credit for the challenge. All decisions regarding “active participation” will be made jointly by the ICATS. For active participants, we will encourage you to verify completion of all posts prior to the final date of the challenge through email to [email protected]. The last challenge will be posted on December 3rd, 2014. You will have until midnight on December 7th, 2014 to complete any remaining challenges. Drawings will be held, via Fruit Machine, from all eligible participants on Monday December 8th and prizes will be awarded that afternoon. Certificates for completion including PGP hours will be sent via email no later than December 19, 2014.

You do not have to complete the challenge by the end of each day to stay eligible for completing the challenge. However, all your challenge comments need to be complete before midnight on December 7, 2014.

If you are an EVSC employee, you can comment to our posts by simply logging in to the ICATS site with your email username and password.

If you are joining the conversation from outside of the EVSC, you can sign in with your WordPress, Twitter, Facebook or Google credentials, or just add your name and email at the bottom of the page (your email will be kept private, but we need a way to contact you).

The Challenge Will Begin on Monday October 20, 2014!

#30DC14

Good Luck and Enjoy the Challenge!

Challenge Warmup….

While the challenge hasn’t quite started yet, we would love for you to reply to this post to start the conversation! Introduce yourself and let us know what subject you teach and where you are from.

If you have any questions please post them below in the comments section.

55 COMMENTS

My name is Connie Scharre. I am the library media specialist for Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School in Clarksville, Indiana. I just found out about the 30 day challenges. I’ve very interested to see what new items I can find.

I am Nioka Clark and I am currently the Lead Teacher at The Excel Center West in Indianapolis. This will be my first year participating in the 30 Day Challenge, and I am very excited about it! I teach high school English (specifically World Literature and Composition) to adults (18 years and older) so incorporating technology is very important in getting them ready for careers in today’s society.

I am Sharla Bloebaum, I teach Business and Information Technology at Princeton Community Middle School. I was unable to participate in the 30 Day Challenge last school year, but am eager to learn what this is all about and I hope I can contribute. I have found middle school students in my district know very little about technology and how it can work to benefit them. Technology is the beginning to opening a whole new world of learning for students of all ages.

Matthew Weber-Math Teacher-Memorial High School Technology is redefining education every single day. I plan to “ride the wave” of technology integration to help improve my teaching abilities and also look to bring my colleagues with me along the way.

Technology is now. It important in all aspects of education from K-12+. New Tools are exciting and give you lots of great ideas to try, to share and to excite the students with! I am currently at EVSC Virtual Academy K-8. so, we use technology everyday. Looking for new things to create authentic tasks with my students.

Jenni Herrell…. fifth grade…..Math and Social Studies ….Hebron Elementary.
With the fifth grade 1:1 initiative this year, I am trying to incorporate more technology usage in the classroom. I hope to be able to keep up with the challenge and bring new ideas to the eager fifth graders.

My name is Patricia Claybaugh and I’m a first grade teacher at Scott Elementary School. I believe that technology is extremely important to incorporate into the classroom and also can be a lot of fun. Contrary to popular belief, I also believe technology plays an important role in the first grade classroom. I’m looking forward to getting started!

Leah Simon- Math Teacher- Harrison High School Evansville, IN- I love the 30 Day Challenge; it is the best tech type PD since it is on my time and “if” I want to participate; which I do every year. Even if you may not use each tool showcased; try it out- pass it on to someone who could use it.